About this build.
This custom detached studio in Mill Valley, in Marin County, California, is a freestanding backyard building designed for creativity, built by Burton Builders in 2025. Fronted by a pair of classic carriage-style doors, it is a flexible workspace built to be whatever its owner needs — an art studio, a workshop, or a home for the next project car. Outside, sage-green lap siding, white-trimmed windows, black barn sconces, and a gabled standing-seam metal roof give the little building real character, with a poured-concrete apron leading up to the doors.
Inside, it is one bright, open room under a vaulted white ceiling with an exposed beam, a ceiling fan, and a row of black dome pendants, all over a hard-wearing polished concrete floor. An L-shaped run of light-oak cabinetry with a white quartz counter and a bar sink brings in running water and storage for supplies, while a ductless mini-split keeps the space comfortable year-round. With a wet bar but no bedroom or bathroom, it is purpose-built as a creative studio rather than a living unit — function and character in equal measure.
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